The TARDIS has once again been spotted out and about, this time materialising at the Welsh National Assembly! The police box prop has been in residence in the Senedd building at Cardiff Bay over the last week.

Photo: Ceri-Anne, 13th March 2012

Photo: Jess Blair, 13th March 2012

Photo: Lee Tucker, 18th March 2012

The nearby Wales Millennium Centre plays host next weekend to the official Doctor Who Convention.

Tom Baker's novel The Boy Who Kicked Pigs is being adapted for the stage.

The book, first published in 1999 and subtitled "A grotesque masterpiece", will be presented by theatre company Kill The Beast, receiving its world premiere at The Lowry arts and entertainment complex at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, this June.

Directed by Clem Garritty, the cast will comprise Natasha Hodgson, Oliver Jones, and Zoe Bob Roberts. It is being adapted by the four of them as a development project with The Lowry and in conjunction with Arts Collective.

The black farce centres on 13-year-old Robert Caligari and features - among other things - talking piggybanks, shark mutilation, and weedkiller-cornflakes.

Porl Cooper, theatres programmer at The Lowry, said:He added that the production also had Baker's full backing.

Suitable for people aged 12 upwards, it will be at the Lowry Studio from Thursday 21st June to Saturday 23rd June. It is hoped that the production will also go on tour this year and in 2013.

Production:

Filming has now completed in Spain, with the cast and crew having returned to the UK on Thursday; cast-member Rob Cavazos commented: "Back in London. Muchas gracias, Almería. We had fun.«". The BBC have released an official photo of Karen Gillan on location at Fort Bravo Studios via Facebook, noting:"Olé! It’s a wrap as cast and crew prepare to depart sunny Spain. Back to Cardiff on Monday morning for more filming of Series 7."

Filming attracted media attention, though this was more focussed on the social activities of the cast during their free time, with coverage of shopping etc. by The Sun and Daily Mail on the 13th, and on socialising by The Sun and Daily Mail again a day later.

A number of Spanish blogs also picked up on filming, including a set report from Dos de Adobe, and the shoot was also reported by local newspapers El Almeria and The Olive Press (in English).

Cast:

Actor Andrew Brooke is to appear in Doctor Who playing a character known as The Reckoner, according to his online CV. The actor was also spotted socially in Spain with Karen, which was again reported via The Sun and Daily Mail.

Brooke has appeared in a number of television shows, including The I.T. Crowd, The Inbetweeners, and My Family, with more substantial roles as Oleg in Pulling, Alan Clacy in Collision, and more recently as Ashley in Phoneshop.


Members of the background cast have provided an album of themselves dressed in their western attire on Facebook, with the photos providing a glimpse into how the Wild West will look, Doctor Who style!

The Rumour Zone:

Back in January, Steven Moffat had made an enigmatic comment about following Sophia Myles on Twitter, saying "I'll explain later. Or not.«". That statement led to widespread speculation as to whether the actress would be returning to Doctor Who, and whilst the lead writer has yet to say anything else to confirm or deny this, the actress herself mentioned being in Spain on Monday at the same time as production was taking place in Almeria: "My bag has just been located at Malaga airport. Hope it gets to me tomorrow.«" Further fuel for the fire appeared on Friday with Arthur Darvill saying to her: "great to meet you. I think I ran off at the end. Good times.«".

It remains to be seen whether the actress really will re-appear in Doctor Who or if these are just coincidences!

Sponsorship is being sought for the new home of the Doctor Who Experience.

As reported earlier this week, the attraction will be a permanent fixture in Cardiff Bay for five years when it opens this summer. More than 1.25 million visitors are expected through its doors over that time and brands are now being offered a potentially lucrative tie-in opportunity by communications specialist Orchard Media and Events Group.

Orchard director Jim Carpenter said:
The sponsorship deal is being offered via online media ideas database Getmemedia.com, which says the anticipated investment for the five-year association is £200,000 plus VAT per year.

Getmemedia.com managing director Pete Davis said:

United Kingdom:

Toby Hadoke's stage show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf arrives in Neston on 30th March, and students from the local high school helped promote the event by dressing up as the Doctor and a Weeping Angel to 'frighten' shoppers at Sainsburys! [AboutMyArea, 9 Mar 2012]

You can find a list of Toby's performances around the country in our earlier news item. Toby has notified us of an error that crept in:

Sunday 11th March would have seen writer and script editor Douglas Adams turn 60, and tribute has been paid in a lengthy feature that takes a look at his close links to Cambridge. Adams was born there, read English at St John's College (which became the inspiration for St Cedd's in his Doctor Who story Shada), and was a member of the Footlights. A tour of Adams-related Cambridge locations was taking place on Saturday. [Cambridge News, 9 Mar 2012]

Swindon's Central Library is to see a Dalek invasion on Saturday 17th March as part of a fund-raising event for charity. The day also sees sci-fi author David Johnson holding writing workshops and signing copies of his books. [Swindon Advertiser, 15 Mar 2012]

AudioGo have released details on audio titles in their spoken word range due to be released in April. The Doctor and Mel go in search of a pool but are instead appalled when they arrive at Paradise Towers. Meanwhile, Sgt. Andy Davidson has to deal with an alien virus without the aid of Torchwood in Fallout.

Both are released on 5th April on CD, or by download from AudioGo from the 1st April.

The BBC have confirmed previous indications that the Doctor Who Experience - which closed last month in London - will be based at its new Cardiff Bay home for at least five years.

The commitment was disclosed within a BBC Careers advert for a new Commercial Manager, whose main responsibilities will be for the Cardiff incarnation when it opens in the summer.

The closing date for the role is 19th March.

Russell T Davies is to be one of the inaugural judges in a new £10,000 initiative for writers living in Wales.

The Wales Drama Award, which will be given every two years, was launched at yesterday's official opening of the BBC's Roath Lock drama studios in Cardiff - the new home of Doctor Who.

For this year's award, writers must submit a full-length, unperformed, or unproduced script in any medium and in English, with a minimum running length of 30 minutes, by July 16th. Six writers who are shortlisted will then be asked to submit a one-page outline of an original idea for development before meeting the judges in September to discuss their script as well as the idea.

The winner, who will be announced in September or October this year, will receive £10,000 and the chance to develop their script and idea with BBC Cymru Wales or National Theatre Wales. Two runners-up will each receive £1,000.

The BBC said:
The judging panel will also comprise BBC creative director of new writing Kate Rowland, BBC Cymru Wales head of drama Faith Penhale, National Theatre Wales artistic director John McGrath, and writer Abi Morgan (Sex Traffic, The Iron Lady, The Hour).

Wales's First Minister, Carwyn Jones, performed the opening ceremony at the Roath Lock production centre by unveiling a plaque on the TARDIS prop. The drama village, which took just 14 months to build, is part of the Porth Teigr renovation projection on Cardiff waterfront. Speaking ahead of the ceremony, Mr Jones said:

Open days over the weekend of 10th and 11th March gave members of the public the chance to see props from Doctor Who and Upstairs, Downstairs, as well as a look round the sets of Casualty and Pobol y Cwm, which have also shifted production to the 170,000 sq ft drama village - the BBC's largest drama production centre in the UK. An exhibition included costumes from Sherlock, which was co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and a Dalek.

Doctor Who production has moved to Roath Lock from Upper Boat. A video report on the opening, in which BBC director-general Mark Thompson mentions the beneficial effect locally of Doctor Who being made there, is available here.

Following uncertainty about the funding of the charity book, Behind the Sofa, as reported this morning by several press outlets including BBC Radio 5, the publisher Steve Berry and PayPal have reached a compromise which should see the charity book published, on time, later this year.

In a joint statement PayPal apologised to Berry for the way they handled payments for the book. They say they are working with Berry to make sure funds are released as they are needed to pay the publisher and other suppliers.

PayPal explained that they placed restrictions on Berry’s account because the payments were received months before the book was available. This was in line with their policy of protecting buyers in case they don’t receive goods that they have pre-ordered. However they admit they should have explained things better and worked more quickly to find a sensible compromise to ensure the success of the good cause.

For his part Steve Berry said he was delighted that PayPal have responded to his concerns about the handling of the account being used to fund the production of the Behind The Sofa book. He said 'We have now come to an amicable resolution and I look forward to publishing the book and fulfilling all the orders placed by generous Doctor Who fans.'

David Tennant can be seen voicing Charles Darwin for the forthcoming Aardman Animations film The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! The film also features the vocal talents of Hugh Grant (who played the Doctor in the 1999 Comic Relief spoof The Curse of Fatal Death, written by Steven Moffat), Russell Tovey, Imelda Staunton, and Brian Blessed.


Lalla Ward will be a guest on Graham Norton's Radio 2 show on Saturday 17th March. She is scheduled to appear on the programme between 12.30pm and 1pm. Executive producer Malcolm Prince told Doctor Who News that questions and comments can be submitted in advance to graham.norton@bbc.co.uk. Imelda Staunton will also be a guest on the show that day, appearing with Michael Ball at 11.30am.

Frazer Hines has been drafted in to spearhead a government campaign to raise awareness about cancer. The actor, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 1999 and finally given the all-clear two years ago following surgery and chemotherapy, met and talked to shoppers in Lincoln, giving them advice as part of the Department of Health's Be Clear On Cancer campaign. He said: "The thing about bowel cancer is that no-one wants to talk about it. The bowel is only a part of your engine . . . and if your engine goes wrong, you have got to have something to do with it. I made up this saying last year, when I was interviewed on The Michael Ball Show: 'Would you rather a doctor took your trousers off once or an undertaker take them off forever?'" [This Is Lincolnshire, 10 Mar 2012]

The character of Donna Noble, as portrayed by Catherine Tate, came in eighth in a Radio Times top ten of strong TV women, compiled for International Women's Day. [Radio Times, 8 Mar 2012]

Lucian Msamati is to play British MP Kayode in the new satire Belong, by Bola Agbaje, at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The play runs from 26th April to 26th May and is a co-production with African theatre company Tiata Fahodzi, of which Msamati is artistic director. [The Stage, 12 Mar 2012]